A home cleaning robot comprising a platform in combination with a cleaning implement, for example a non-woven electrostatic cloth, and a motive force to autonomously move the platform is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,955 to Bartsch et al. The robot moves randomly about a surface while cleaning the surface with the cloth. U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,515 to Kirkpatrick et al. discloses a similar device with a surface treating sheet and also includes a chamber for storing fluid that is applied to the surface through the surface treating sheet. Another robotic floor cleaner disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0002751 to Fisher utilizes disposable cleaning sheets, such as dust cloths, retained by several sheet holder receptacles on a compliant pad. The robotic floor cleaner further comprises an appendage that can have several functions, including a sheet holder or a fluid dispenser. U.S. Pat. No. 6,633,150 to Wallach et al. discloses a mobile robot that mops a surface by pressing a damp towel, which is mounted to the body of the robot, against the ground as the robot moves back and forth. One limitation of these types of robot cleaners is that large debris is pushed in front of the robot without being picked up. Another limitation is that the large debris tends to clog or bind the cloth, thus reducing the useful life of the cloth.
Some automatic robots that vacuum or sweep floors and other surfaces are capable of removing large debris. For example, an automatic robotic vacuum cleaner integrating a drive system, a sensing systems, and a control system with a microprocessor is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0060928. Examples of commercially available robotic vacuum cleaners include the Roomba vacuum cleaner from iRobot, the Karcher Robo-Vac vacuum cleaner, the Robo Vac vacuum cleaner from Eureka, the Electrolux Trilobite vacuum cleaner, and the LG Electronics Robot King vacuum cleaner. The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,633,150 to Wallach et al. further discloses a mobile robot vehicle with a motor-driven brush that sweeps debris from the floor and into a dustpan positioned close to the brush as the vehicle moves forward and backward. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,844 to Jones discloses an obstacle detection system for a robot configured to dust, mop, vacuum, and/or sweep a surface such as a floor. U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,880 to Nakanishi and U.S. Pat. No. 5,959,423 to Nakanishi et al. disclose similar mobile work robots that comprise a dust collecting unit for vacuuming or suctioning dust from the floor and a wiping unit for spreading fluid, such as detergent, disinfectant, or wax, onto the floor and wiping the floor. Furthermore, a wireless mobile vehicle described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,884 to Allen et al. comprises a vacuum system that can be adapted to make the vehicle suitable for a damp-mopping function by including a rotating mop head and reservoirs for clean and dirty water.